Latest news with #I-pop
Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
India to soon have its own K-pop bands backed by BTS' agency: Will HYBE's big bet challenge Bollywood's reign?
HYBE is officially expanding into India, planning to launch its subsidiary here, just like it did in the U.S. and Japan. And while that does mean the K-pop giant, led by Bang Si Hyuk and home to global phenomenon BTS, will open the floodgates for full-scale concerts in the country, there's more. As part of its 'multi-home, multi-genre' strategy, the company will likely debut its own K-pop wing in India, a crossover of Indian talent and Korean expertise. India's live music scene has exploded in recent years. Concert culture has hit new highs, with international artistes packing venues. In 2024 alone, the live events segment shot past Rs 12,000 crore, with a projected CAGR of 19% over the next three years. And 2025's already lining up multiple K-pop stadium headliners. But this isn't just about global acts rolling through. It's about India ready to have its own wave of I-pop. Here's how it's about to play out. Also read: BTS' Jimin said he felt 'suffocated' listening to RM's track, knew something was wrong: 'I wonder what kind of jerks he's met' When HYBE expanded into America under Scooter Braun, it launched the girl group Katseye in 2024, teaming up with Geffen Records (Universal Music Group). The idol selection process followed the same high-stakes model as Korea, members picked through a survival series. For Katseye, it was The Debut: Dream Academy. The group features members of mixed nationalities, American, Filipino, Swiss-Italian/Ghanaian, Indian-American, Chinese-Singaporean, and Korean. They operated from LA, but the method is all K-pop. There's more coming, like the upcoming U.S. boy group HYBE is building with Ryan Tedder. The Grammy-winning producer behind hits for Beyoncé and Adele is developing a male counterpart to Katseye, aiming to create a next-gen U.S. boy group. Moreover, a Latin American boy group, Santos Bravos, is also in the pipeline. Take a look at HYBE Japan, they've already rolled out Japanese boy groups like &TEAM and aoene. Both exploded to fame from day one, and every single release since has crushed the charts, overshadowing local acts. Now, with India next in line for its own HYBE subsidiary, we're just days away from seeing the first real India x K-pop collab take shape. Also read: Korean Rock band Catch The Young says Indian beats could inspire next-gen rock: 'Imagine a progressive twist' India's always been a stronghold for homegrown music, with Bollywood running the show. With large-scale K-pop concerts on the horizon, featuring HYBE's top-tier acts like BTS, SEVENTEEN, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, ENHYPEN, TXT, and others, the battle for dominance is just getting started. Earlier, a HYBE spokesperson in astatement said, 'We're actively conducting market research and working on the logistics for the Indian subsidiary,' adding that the expansion is 'driven by Chairman Bang Si Hyuk's vision to export K-pop methodologies globally.' In 2025, India ranked as the 15th largest recorded music market in the world (IFPI). With the world's biggest youth population, HYBE sees India as more fertile ground for K-pop than anywhere else. A spokesperson confirmed that the India venture will likely follow the same localisation playbook. As one executive put it: 'To win globally, you have to go local, and K-pop's entire success hinges on knowing its audience inside out.'
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
The most popular artist on Spotify has never released an album or single, yet beat Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Rihanna, BTS
The streaming platform Spotify is one of the largest music platforms in the world. Most music artists globally boast millions of followers on the platform, which validates their stardom. So, it is reasonable that the biggest names in music today - like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Eminem, and Drake - are among the top 10 in the list of most followed artists on the platform. Yet, they were all beaten for the top spot by one man who has never released a studio album or single. (Also read: India's Spotify 2024 report card: I-pop on rise, Ranveer beats Joe Rogan, Punjabi tunes rule, Aashiqui 2 still…) Indian playback singer Arijit Singh is the most-followed artist on Spotify globally. With 144 million followers on the music streaming platform, Arijit beat Taylor Swift (136 million) and Ed Sheeran (120 million) to the top. Four other artists - Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, and Eminem - have over 100 million Spotify followers each. Some other global superstars are surprisingly not in the top 10, including BTS (#11), Rihanna (#13), Coldplay (#16), and Selena Gomez (#21). Pop superstar Beyoncé does not even make it to the top 25. Other Indian artists in the top 25 include AR Rahman (#15), Pritam (#23), and Neha Kakkar (#24). Arijit Singh began his career as a contestant on the reality show Fame Gurukul at the age of 18. Immediately after the show, Arijit was signed by Tips for his maiden album, but it was never released. He eventually turned into a music producer and programmer, working for several successful composers. Eventually, he made his singing debut in 2010 with the Telugu song Neeve Na Neeve Na. In 2012, he found success in Hindi music as well with the song Raabta. However, his real breakthrough was the successful soundtrack of the 2013 film, Aashiqui 2, in which he sang most of the songs, all of which were chartbusters. Over the last decade, he has sung several chartbusters, winning the National Film Award twice and the Filmfare Award seven times. He has also collaborated with successful international artists like Ed Sheeran and Martin Garrix.
